The Poultry Leadership Podcast
"Welcome to 'The Poultry Leadership Podcast,' where we dive deep into the world of poultry leadership to help you soar to new heights in your career. Join us as we sit down with some of the industry's most accomplished leaders, farm owners, and allied professionals. Gain valuable insights, strategies, and personal stories that reveal the secrets behind their success. Discover what makes these poultry visionaries the outstanding leaders they are. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting out, our show is your go-to resource for unlocking your full leadership potential. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the journey to becoming the poultry leader you aspire to be."
This podcast is brought to you by Prism Controls, the leader in Environmental Controls for the past 45 years! Check them out at http://www.prismcontrols.com
The Poultry Leadership Podcast
Knowledge Is Borrowed: Leadership Lessons from Herbruck’s Mohamed Mousa
A gentle voice with decades of wisdom, Mohamed Mousa reveals how his childhood experience of losing baby chicks in Egypt became the foundation for revolutionary animal welfare practices that transformed an entire industry.
From tending a small flock by the Nile River to implementing poultry management systems across the globe, Mohamed's 40-year journey contains profound lessons about leadership, compassion, and the unexpected connection between profitability and proper animal care. "Animal welfare is always a money maker for the business," he explains, challenging conventional thinking that treats ethics and economics as opposing forces.
Mohamed opens up about the mentors who shaped his philosophy—particularly Dr. Nagel, who shared knowledge with one condition: "You have to pass this to others." This commitment to knowledge transfer has become Mohamed's life mission. "I don't own this knowledge," he reflects. "It's borrowed information I have to lend to somebody else." His relationship with Herbruck's Farms owner Stephen Herbruck—founder of what is now Prism Controls—shows how visionary leadership can elevate entire organizations when values align.
Perhaps most powerful is Mohamed's approach to mistakes. Rather than seeing errors as termination-worthy offenses, he views them as "the best teaching moments ever." Through his own painful story of losing birds to a tripped breaker, he demonstrates how analyzing failures can lead to systemic improvements and deeper commitment.
For young professionals, Mohamed's message is clear: develop genuine passion for the animals, understand their needs deeply, build strong teams through listening, and recognize that food production carries responsibility to both animals and consumers. As he approaches his 72nd year with no retirement plans, his definition of purpose remains beautifully simple: "Life is about serving others."
Hosted by Brandon Mulnix - Director of Commercial Accounts - Prism Controls
The Poultry Leadership Podcast is only possible because of its sponsor, Prism Controls
Find out more about them at www.prismcontrols.com
Welcome to the Poultry Leadership Podcast. I'm your host, Brandon Mulnix. On today's episode, in-house I have Mohamed Mousa from Herbruck's Farms. Mohamed is a legend in the industry. If you've been around for any length of time, you've probably had a very positive interaction with Muhammad. He has been working in this industry pretty much his whole career, and what he's going to bring today is not only his story but also some really great advice for leaders in the industry. Mohamed, welcome to the Poultry Leadership Podcast.
Mohamed Mousa:Thank you. I appreciate your inviting me to speak and I can tell you you are the first one I agreed to speak and you are a very, very valuable person because where you are and where you come from, and also for the relationship with Herbruck's.
Brandon Mulnix:Thank you, Mohamed. I really appreciate that. Can you give the listeners who may not know who you are a little?
Mohamed Mousa:bit background. My name is Mohamed Mousa. I am a native of Egypt. I was born in very, very small community, about five homes next to the Nile. We had a farm and we had I am the oldest on three boys and we had old tractors and stuff laying around and the farm was neglected. Nobody was really taking care of it. It was banana farm, oranges in some fields and so on, and my family was in construction, steel construction. So all what you see around the shop is welding machines and things of that nature. So I started when I was very young, about four years old, asking to get some gifts in my birthday and I asked for some chicken.
Mohamed Mousa:Got about a hundred of them, most of them died, and a lot of story about that. The guys in the shop felt sorry for me and they made me a small aviary system, you can believe. But it had a drawer for the manure and I go every day take the feed for the chicken, whatever I found in the house and clean the manure. And I learned that you cannot put the manure close to the house. So I had to take it away and put it beside the trees, thinking that I took it away from the house and later on I learned that that's a fertilizer. But I didn't know that. Then, when I went to high school and my father wanted me to go to engineering school, that I can be the reign of the company and take over. I did not. Ran of the company and take over. I did not.
Mohamed Mousa:And I went studied poultry and animal production, genetic and a few other things, construction. Of course I had to study it because I didn't want to, but I had to study it because you don't get allowance and get money unless you listen to that. It helped me over the years, believe it or not, that now I can understand how to build chicken house, how to ventilate it, how to do that. I learned all of this not intentionally but because I was ordered to do. I started working in the poultry business, started in genetic company, then after this grandparent, then parent stock, started in genetic company, then after this grandparent, then parent stock, and I did that for about 12 and a half years. Then after that I was running around the world. Of course, if you are a technical guy they tell you where to go. Didn't have too much wisdom, so wherever they send me I go and I always go. Get a guy and build a little reputation of loving the chicken, loving the animals, know how to get production and so on. Even I slept with baby chicks so many nights in a bill of hay and I didn't mind at all taking a shower with very cold garden hose, sometimes in Saudi Arabia in these hot climates.
Mohamed Mousa:Anyhow, after that I got married and I have kids and I had to choose between traveling and enjoying the other countries or take care of the family, and of course I choose the family. And that's when I started a small business in the country of Iraq and because I was a foreigner, I had a big problem with the rules and the governments and I took my money. They kicked me out. Then I had a job offer here in the United States and I came in to do genetic selection. I didn't know if I would succeed or not, but I did.
Mohamed Mousa:And after that went to take some classes for DNA typing and my professor, a great, great man, his name is Robert Washburn. And Dr Washburn told me you're smart, guy, but you are a dumb professional. So I said what you mean? He said go in management. We will soon have a high school kid with a computer. He could do better than me and you and that genetic thing you are running behind. And I I said okay, thank you sir, and I got the first job in the layer industry in 1993. And I am still doing it till now.
Brandon Mulnix:And that was with which company in 1993?.
Mohamed Mousa:Was Eleanor Farms in Georgia and a lot's changed.
Brandon Mulnix:Eleanor Farm is in Georgia and a lot's changed. So, mohamed, not many people have a story of being multinational and getting all of these opportunities to learn, because what I've learned from you is you like to learn. Maybe not what you're told to learn back in school, as you said, but you learned. But just in general, you're a lifetime learner. How has that lifetime learning continued after you got your first management job?
Mohamed Mousa:Well, I had management jobs before, but it was not in the layer industry. I had broiler breeders and grandparent and I did some genetic work with genetic selection against lymphoid leucosis and other diseases. Medics and others was causing a lot of damage in the poultry industry worldwide and I had such great people to train me. And I can mention many, many of them, but I will mention three people whom had. They are not living at this time with us, but they live in my heart. One of them is Dr Twineco and he was the president and top veterinarian from what used to be called Uribreed Nowadays it's Hendrix Genetic.
Mohamed Mousa:And the other one is Dr Nagel and he is from Germany and he was a teacher and he taught me how to teach and I will say something about this man. One day he told me I was asking a lot of questions and he told me that he said I will tell you everything under one condition. And I said what is that? He said you have to pass this knowledge to others and I am doing that now. The third person his name is Rick Berger and Rick Berger is from Virginia and he was a tough boss, but he believed in me and he gave me a lot of confidence, even when I did not know what I need to do. So I go to a farm and some, let's say, in Turkey, and I don't know what I am looking at. I am young, green, yes, have a lot of knowledge in my head, but I couldn't explain it and I go to the hotel room.
Mohamed Mousa:I call him Sometimes. He answers, sometimes not, and he sometimes leave me overnight to grill my head a little bit to find a book or something to read. We used to carry books with us. Our internet was in a briefcase, you know and he answered me in the morning. He knows, of course, here I am, what time and all that, and he tells me look into this, look into that, look into that. And he ends his words to me by get those guys who are running that farm and explain to them what I just told you, don't get in trouble.
Mohamed Mousa:He used to end his advice by don't get in trouble, and I didn't know what it means. You know, don't go to the bars and all of this stuff till he explained it to me. When I was married he said I think you know what I mean now. That is the foundation Through my career. I understand you are, as a leader, as good as your team and you are as weak as your weak team member. So I spend a lot of time looking for knowledge, ask questions, get information and train the team that the team and I can, as a leader, carry the responsibility together and get the best of both worlds the academic side of things and also the practical side.
Brandon Mulnix:It's interesting you mentioned the word foundation. I mean foundation means something that you plan on building on. I mean foundation means something that you plan on building on. How have you continued to build on that foundation, specifically in the area of teaching others?
Mohamed Mousa:Every business has a capacity. When I joined Herbruck's, horbrooks was a smaller company and as the company grew I had to add another team members. But also I appreciate Herbrook's family, especially Stephen Herbrook and Greg and Herb, for letting me do things the way I thought it's beneficial to the company. So I hire college graduates and even if they don't know much about egg layers and egg layer equipment and vaccination and all those things, then we teach that and when we start preparing and training, you're not preparing and trained for your own good. You are training and preparing for the good of that person and also for the future of the company, that the company can have a way to grow and a way to serve the customers. Because at the end of the day, even if we produce eggs or produce broilers, we have a customer we are serving and we have to serve our customers very well.
Brandon Mulnix:With that growth you've affected a lot of people, not just on your team, but also a lot of the people that I've heard from that know. You know, musa, as you're well known in the industry, for you've had an effect on vendors. How do you translate leadership from the farm into the vendors that you've affected so positively?
Mohamed Mousa:The people whom you deal with, either inside the company what I call it, your staff or the outside your vendors whom supply you, or your supplier or supply chain, or even people you talk to in academic establishment, in universities, like professors, let's say, and so on, you get a certain level of humanity connection. You connect with those people in a level much higher and much greater and much purer than the business transaction. And from my reading about the human ability to be above all the money and the profit and all those things, it's the guidance which you come end of the day and you say is everybody is winning. And I found out that this way also make the other person in supply chain or vendor or manufacturing of certain material. They give you the best advice, not only the best product, but also the best advice. The best advice, not only the best product, but also the best advice. And through those years which now in the United States I've been working for about 36 years, the friendship with people I worked with from the time I started till now was still connecting. Most of them we send Christmas cards to each other and ask about our families and some of them I know, their wives and their kids and so on.
Mohamed Mousa:The great philosopher, whom a lot of people may don't know the name very much and he was a very his name is Socrates and he was always mixing between humanity and action. And our action is continue from the day you do it. It lives with you the rest of your life. And if that action and that communication in a tender, loving level you create a teamwork in your staff that they in harmony, they work together for the interest of the business, but also they know how to communicate with the other outside world for the best of both worlds. That way created not intentionally because I didn't know that's what the outcome will be a very calm staff and nobody say negative about somebody else. Everybody is trying to help and I directed all the energy from the staff and myself and even the owners to serve the animals and I came up with serving the birds.
Mohamed Mousa:The other thing is animal welfare. As I said before. You know I was a person, a child. I have some baby chicks and most of them died. That creates in deep on me the care of the animal because I felt that I did not care about those baby chicks even at the childhood. My mom have German parents and so on, mixed Italian and so on, and she was very strong in her views about things. And when the chicks died, she just sat me down in a kitchen table and told me, if you took care of them they would be still alive. And I do that with what we do now in practice. Relationships and friendships take the business to a higher level than the money that runs action.
Brandon Mulnix:As you have these interactions with people, you're a genuine human being, which is something that I've been able to experience. I had the pleasure of running into you at the airport and you took the time to sit and mentor me a person that you knew of through company that Prism controls, but I could tell you were immediately into coach mode, into mentor mode, and it was so inspiring in this industry of folks that you know, in the busyness of travel you go to all kinds of events, you're asked to do all these things, but you took that time to invest in me and then I think we even sat together on the airplane. The seats were next to each other, which was such a blessing. So is that purposeful for you?
Mohamed Mousa:Yes, you know, our knowledge and our ability is because knowledge is not the only thing. It's how to deliver that knowledge and how to send it to the direction which it can benefit others. It's a kind of a gift. You don't own it. You know I don't own this knowledge. I don't own that. All the people vested their time on me is borrowed information. I have to lend it to somebody else. And remember what I was told by Dr Nagel that yes, I'm going to lend you this information but you have to pass it to others. But from my reading, the value of any person decline with age and power and retired and this, and that if you don't put that money to benefit, I would say humanity. But I really, really look for the benefit of the birds. I love the animals, I love the chicken and I know exactly everything and how much they labor every day to produce that egg or to build meat for us to enjoy and so on. And that knowledge it's for everybody and it's not owned by anybody.
Brandon Mulnix:Sharing that knowledge. It's not owned. That is powerful. That is something that so many people including myself at some points feel that when I meet somebody like you, I need to talk, and I think what you're reminding me in this is ask questions and listen. There's so many things you can learn from others just by shutting your mouth and listening in a way that actually you're going to learn something, and so I take that you know. Thank you for the reminder in that, because, again, we have this knowledge. I mean, the purpose of this podcast is to share that knowledge with the next generation. As you look at the next generation, what encourages you?
Mohamed Mousa:Okay, I mentioned to you that I was young one day. I am 71 and a half years old now. Back then in early late 1970s, especially 1979 to 1983, I was young and you will be surprised to know that I was a hippie and I was a member of a band. We were playing music and we were imitating the Beatles. We did a lot of things which was not very good, because the police used to come and chase us away because we were making noise in the middle of the night, early early.
Mohamed Mousa:I discovered that talking to people and understanding where they stand make you a better person, not only a better person for the people, but a better person for yourself. You know how to forgive yourself when you make a mistake and you admit it and also translate that to the young person. When I went to do bigger roles in the industry, I see that person just got out from the university, know very little. I see myself in that person and I see myself not as I am today. I see myself back then when I didn't know what I'm doing and I coach my team, the young generation leader.
Mohamed Mousa:Now that you always lend your hand and your ability to the young person coming out from the school. He or she can take that foundation and build on it and they become very effective team leaders and they will make the operation to run just like an engine, every part of the engine synchronized with the other part to bring that horsepower, which is a company, business and benefit every person Paycheck. At the end of the day everybody benefit. But the big benefit from all of that that the animal welfare for the chicken become not just a word or written plan. It become a daily practice that if somebody see a bird, let's say hang in in the wire, very quickly they go, take that bird, they look at it and we created something we call it a hospital or resting area, take them away from the general competition and put them feed and water and all of that, that tender loving to the chicken can also transfer to that. Young people coming up that they can future leaders in the industry.
Brandon Mulnix:I can tell you're passionate about the bird. I can see it in the way you talk. I have the pleasure of being face-to-face with him and the passion that he has for birds and chickens and people. You're blessed. I mean, you see Gen 4 of the Herbrook family coming through, as we call them and other folks call them. So I ask what encourages you about them? What is something that you're worried about?
Mohamed Mousa:First, I want to say that the young generation I really believe strongly. They have more resources than what somebody like myself had. They're much more intelligent in getting things done quicker time, saving what I used to do in a day, I understand. Right now they can do in five seconds. And I give you an example if I want to look to a float layers performance and I want to get mortality exhibit in houses and all that, I used to have that in a card and you have to write it down and you have to look at what I bought it and this and that. Well, today, then we went to the Excel sheets and all that. Well, today, you ask the question, you get the answer in less than two seconds. So they are smart, but they need the direction.
Mohamed Mousa:And there is one more thing which is very, very critical for business. Most of the people young generation now try to glide over the effective line. This is my analysis. The effective line always is when you know the details and you direct other people to pay attention to the details. This is life, animals. This is not a piece of machinery. You can't turn it off and those animals 24 hours a day. And to glide over that effective line means that you are missing something or you push it to somebody else. You shouldn't.
Mohamed Mousa:And my advice always to the young generation is it's your responsibility, it's his, it's his, it's everybody. What I worry about them, it's one thing, one item only, and that item is much higher confidence than understanding the animal need. The animal need cannot be looked at as he will take care of it, it's okay, or any of that. The animal need is the animal need need to be specified, need to be explained and need to be followed. And I am a board member with the International Animal Welfare Alliance and also I chair the LER subcommittee the animal welfare. It was on me before even I start to go to university and study because my failure early, early in age. Animal welfare is always a money maker for the business. Because you have healthy chicken, you have caring people and you have a way to develop a bitter practices. Because you have healthy chicken, you can do. Because you have healthy chicken, you can do a lot with healthy chicken to get better production. You cannot do that with unhealthy birds.
Brandon Mulnix:So you've been with Herbrooks since what year?
Mohamed Mousa:2005, August 2005. I'm getting very close to 20 years.
Brandon Mulnix:Okay, so in that time you know, Herbrooks, from my understanding, did a lot of work in understanding what a healthy flock, healthy numbers of caged and then the numbers of birds in cages, and really really worked hard on those those numbers. What have you seen and experienced as to how to really focus on on on the bird and and what was that conversion like? Because you started probably with caged and and a certain government regulation? What does that evolution look like?
Mohamed Mousa:my background was, as I mentioned, is breeders genetic and all those birds get put in floor or in slats. We had some artificial insemination, certain special breeds which we had to make sure that we multiplied, and all of that. You put them in cages and of of course, there is when you put a test flock, you bend those and you put. In my time we used to put a number and nowadays they are putting a code that you can read with a code reader. Herb Brooks, before my time, was already understanding the animal welfare. The only thing I did that I participated in it with the employees. I didn't leave it to the employees only, I went there with them and I implemented one thing, and Stephen was the champion on that I don't like to see dead birds in the floor. None, zero, no tolerance. A dead bird must be respected and put in a plastic bag. And Herbrooks had crematories and if you take a bird to the crematory you raise the value of caring about the animal because it's not being put in the trash or something like that. And I learned a lot from Stephen. I learned a lot from what's in his mind. I used to talk to him and Greg we talk about different things. They say it a certain way and I go do it another way, but in the end it's in the interest of those animals. I work also with other companies. I work with Rose Acre and Ohio Fresh and other companies and our industry blasts with good leaders, regardless of the price of eggs or this or that, Regardless the price of eggs or this or that. But the egg industry was a good leading scientist whom the scientific committee for United Egg Producers created an atmosphere for animal welfare. Instead of it is geographically in one farm, it become industry wide, Different levels, yes, but in the same time it took over in the country and my pleasure to say that the young generation coming out today they found it already and they are adapting it and using it.
Mohamed Mousa:So what we did back then and it was a conversation and it was is it right, Is it not? How many square inches? How many of this, how many of that? Today is a very stable foundation. It made from concrete right now, and every young person coming out is building on it. Did we do a good job? I know to be determined. You know it's a. Do we know exactly what's animal welfare supposed to be? Well, maybe some of us say yes, I know. And some of us say, well, it doesn't pay and this and that, but what it is is a very powerful direction for the young generation to develop, a good way to serve for those animals and to produce food not produced under stress. Stressed animals is going to taste completely different in their product than animal is not stressed.
Brandon Mulnix:Interesting then, animal is not stressed. Interesting, I mean to see that you know the foundation's been set. You have evolved through your career and I like to ask the question you mentioned. As a kid a pivotal moment was when you lost the birds. That set your foundation of valuing the bird. Is there another pivotal moment where maybe you made a mistake, had something happen that really changed you that you would share, that could help maybe somebody else not do the same thing you did?
Mohamed Mousa:Yes, many of them. So I will mention a few and I mentioned some about this that the team have to work together. I was overseeing a flock of breeder in Turkey, up in a mountain, and the baby chicks was coming from Holland, from the Netherlands, and I supposed to be in the plane. It's a charter flight and it's not very comfortable, but you got to be in it. I went late about 10 minutes and the plane they did not. I seen the plane in a tarmac but they did not let me get in. So I went, I booked a ticket and that, so I was late. I went about eight hours later. I went about eight hours later. The people home in the farm. I was assured that they will do. I called and I left a message with somebody. You know the phone was only in the office, so you leave a message and somebody take it to the field. And those were 7,000 birds I remember the number, and the males is separate from the females and the instruction would said both the males separate and you make it, get cardboard and do this and do that and put the brooder in this height and feed, and all the regular instruction which we had written. And they already received that before that, but it goes with every flaw. And inside one from those pallets which they have the boxes stacked was a box with all the vaccine which was going to be applied for those birds, because I went late. Even we told them there is a box in there and it has a vaccine in it.
Mohamed Mousa:The person who was dealing with all of this was a truck driver, so the first thing he did he took that his loading, you know, from the airport. He found that box, he took it and he put it with him in the cabin. Right or wrong. There is papers in there written in instruction one, two, three, four, anyhow. It was my mistake because I did not stable or tape those papers. So the papers was left in the checkbox In the field. When the chicks arrived in there, they put them in and they did the water, the feed and all that stuff and they were thinking I am coming back in in an hour, let's say, or so.
Mohamed Mousa:So I went straight from the airport to the farm. I found no vaccine at that. Coccidiosis vaccine was not available, was not even invented. So we used to go in and try to make sure that we have some umbrella, and we do this, you know, certain seven days later and so on, or leave the birds to get the seeds then after they're treated, and so on. So I found no vaccine. Instead of staying in the farm, I went to look for the vaccine, and that's a mistake. But the time I went back we found the vaccine box is in the cab.
Mohamed Mousa:After I think it was 12 hours or so hot days, we went back to the farm, myself and the farm manager which I went. I picked him up from his home. During that period the ventilation breaker was tripped and the temperature, I think, was almost 40 degrees centigrade and the brooders is running. I do not know when this happened exactly, we could not track it, but I found about 60% of the baby chicks is dead. I blamed myself for that and I took the responsibility and I was working for a great, great man.
Mohamed Mousa:When I called him and I told him the story and I said that statement, I said Rick, I don't make too much money, but this is my mistake and I will pay for it. Please cut 25% every month. I used to get paid per month and he said I am going to cut everything. You're not going to get a penny until you pay for the checks. And he said ha ha ha. And I didn't know what he meant. And he said three days from now you're going to get the balance, because we were guaranteed seven days. He sent the baby checks and I was so afraid that something happened and those birds die. I stayed 10 days in that chicken house, day and night, taking shower by a water hose. That's a mistake. I just hang in. I didn't think. I did not think can I stay another hour? I immediately turn around and I did not pay attention to what's inside the chicken house.
Brandon Mulnix:It's interesting because that mistake is something that you'll never forget and you shared, like it happened yesterday, and yet you see business owners and business managers fire people over making a mistake like that.
Mohamed Mousa:I think this is short-sighted, because when a person, young or old, makes a mistake, it's not intentionally, it's the attention of that moment went somewhere else. I want to tell you about that incident that you cannot get that vaccine from anywhere else and at that time we had a contract with Intervet. Intervet puts the packet together, they carry it to the airport, one from the company puts it in and it goes Making mistakes. Sometimes it's the best teaching moment for anybody, but it needs to be addressed, highlighted and I would add to any manager out there nicely, and I'm going to ask every person in a leadership work with the chicken Never tell one from your team member you are fired because he made a mistake or she made a mistake.
Mohamed Mousa:Your team member you are fired because he made a mistake or she made a mistake. Never put them in an ease because you ask them something and, intentionally or not intentionally, it did not happen exactly as you want. If you explain things to people and you don't write it down, there is some steps is going to be missing and it's not that personal mistake, it's your own mistake because you did not write it down. All of us make mistakes, even in our personal life and training a person after made a mistake. It's the best teaching moment ever.
Brandon Mulnix:The reception is almost 100% ever, the reception is always almost 100. I've found in managing people over the years that if it truly was an unintentional mistake, it is that best learning opportunity and they may never do that ever again if it's in their power. There are mistakes systems, you know, as as a controls company, I mean we try to prevent every human mistake that's imaginable out there. Because somebody made that mistake of the breaker tripping and no alarm. Back then to say, hey, there's no power to this. And what did that change over time was, hey, we probably should put a monitor on the power and if it goes out, we alarm somebody. We tell them Because humans, there was failure points all along there. But yet it's one of those things that, as leaders, we don't look at the mistake, as always the person, but the process. What could we do as leaders to keep that from happening again? Because it's going to happen again if we don't do something about it. And that's On leaders. When something happens the second time, that's on leaders, every single time.
Mohamed Mousa:Comment on that. That incident was a breaker. It's not only put me internally as a person failed to care of the animals. I did not care how much it did cost, but I see baby chicks in front of me and I was very moved by that. So after we got the other birds and we put them in, I sit down and it's a pail of hay they get. They don't have wood shaving, so they had hay and I was sitting in it and I said what I need to do now and my eyes went to the breaker box.
Mohamed Mousa:I knew electric a little bit so I asked if they have new breaker and they said no. I said do you have electrician? And they said yes, but he's so many miles away, kilometers away. I said can you ask him to come here? I'm not leaving, I'm staying, because I was afraid that that breaker trip again. Then the electrician came in and he said oh, that's too much load in one breaker, we have to separate them. And that solved the problem. He put three breakers in there because when everything runs, it was overloading that breaker. So if you put a new breaker, it's just a matter of time in that heat which is going to trip again. And this happened. We talk about mistakes here. I'm not understanding the timetable. This was in the third day that I thought about it, and if I was not sitting in the front of that breaker box I may not know it. My advice always is don't leave the place till you analyze the problem, and I do that. I can sit in a chicken house for hours because I don't know what I'm looking at.
Brandon Mulnix:As you get to that point, you're 71 years old. Most people retire at 63, 65 years old. What kept you going for the last six to eight years?
Mohamed Mousa:My love to my profession and my love to my team and the owner of the company, I will not be able to just give Herbrooke's family their deserved credit, not only with me but with everybody who works there, and you are from the community and you know what they do. My love to the animals has always derived me to say what I can do better, not only for the animals, but how we can reduce mortality, how we can improve productivity, how we can retain feeders longer. There is a lot of science and research out there. There is tons of universities puts scientific data out and I took it in my own that I am that conduit that I can bring some from that to the team. Sometimes we succeed, sometimes not, but in the same time, if you work on it and you get the help from the scientific community and transfer this to your team as practice, you can make wonders.
Mohamed Mousa:And I give you a little example the company I'm working for now, herb Brooks Boulder Ranch, is the only company is MS and MG negative, no vaccine. It didn't happen because I want to. It happened because we have a good team, we have good practice, we have good owners, we have owners value the employees but value the customer. Owners, value the employees, but value the customer where the egg goes. That customer gets a lot of attention from our owners and our team members and it's not one time, it's every day, every meeting that the customer in in the center of the discussion, equally with the animals and the animal welfare how we feed the birds right, how we take care of them, how we ventilate them. Also the sense of community. You want to make sure that you are not creating a bad odor and spread all over the place. You want to make sure that you are friendly for the community and you address their need even before they mention it or they complain about it.
Mohamed Mousa:And I give that credit to Stephen Herbrook. Stephen used to put that right in front of us all the time and he's in a better place than I am. If he see a fly, one fly in his car he should call me and call Greg and call this and call that and say there's flies out there, one, one fly. He was a visionary man looking for excellency in his operation and his business and serving the customer and taking care of the animals and I can talk a lot about him because I used to sit with him all the time. He trusted me with my nonsense stuff sometimes, which I used to say about making the feed a little bit more expensive, or we do this or we do that, or cleaning this or doing I'll tell you a lot of other things, but that man, he was a true poultry leader. He understood how he can make somebody like me and others to bring what's in them to serve the animal and customers. I am indebted to him.
Brandon Mulnix:The rest of my life and for you listeners that don't know, Stephen herbrook is the founder of poultry management systems, which is now prison controls, and so the precision, the value of the bird, the value of the bird, the value of the customer, and all of that is what his legacy continues to spread. As your reflection of that, I'm so glad to actually get to hear this, because you know Stephen's at a point where some of this is really he's not able to share this.
Mohamed Mousa:He also served the industry. He served in United Egg Producer with his very low voice. He can bring wisdom. In a meeting people shouting, he can bring that wisdom and make that point which they are communicating and disagreement about. He can get that point to a level of calmness that will be accepted. I learned this from him.
Brandon Mulnix:I could talk with you all day and our listeners probably could listen to you all day, but I want to respect your time all day, and our listeners probably could listen to you all day, but I want to respect your time.
Mohamed Mousa:what's what is one thing that you have to share with the next generation that we haven't talked about yet I am very excited and very happy to see the next generation, the people who are interested and have a high level of learning about how to run a company, have live animals in it. And I will say this for iglears and broiler breeders and to other people whom I am helping outside the United States, to other people whom I am helping outside the United States Give the animals your love and try to know more about them and to try to be not above the effective lion or the needed lion. Get back to the details. Respect highly that those animals need a high level of care in every direction, if it's feed, temperature, water, water quality, anything, litter, good running equipment, all of that. But also to your team member. If you are a leader, your team member is the tool, is the help, is an instrument which makes the wheel turn. Always give them the advice and always listen to them when they tell you something, even if it's not important in your mind. Later you're going to think that that person, when you listen to him, will come to you later with a bitter idea, with a correction, with something you're not looking to correct because you can see everything yourself.
Mohamed Mousa:And also I advise the young generation to have passion to the animal welfare and to understand the birds have feeling and they are serving us as food. And the other one we are producing food not for decoration, this is for human consumption, which my family, your family, your grandson, your granddaughter, your elderly. Food safety is very, very critical and if you don't know it 100%, you better read and found it, because all the information is out there. And I want to say something to the scientific community in the United States, united Kingdom, netherlands, germany, italy, the people I was associated with. They invest in young generation and I tell them I take my hat off for all the work you do, which made somebody like myself in the level I am. That can also go to the young generation and they can be a better poultry man, better managers and better coaching, preparing the new generation as I did.
Brandon Mulnix:Thank you, Well, mohamed Mousa, thank you for your years of service. I've only got to experience just a few of them, and I've seen just what a blessing you've been to the industry, and I know that as long as there's breath in your lungs, you're going to be caring for the bird. There's no retirement that will keep you away from this industry.
Mohamed Mousa:I don't have a plan for retirement. If I exit where I am now, I am just going to do something else. But I am eager to serve, small, big. I am one of the people whom you can say life is about serving others.
Brandon Mulnix:So much wisdom, so much heart, even with a lawnmower in the background, even with tapping on the tables everything that means we put heart into this podcast for you Listeners. This is an episode I want to definitely have you share. Musa, as he mentioned, doesn't take a lot of interviews as he mentioned, doesn't take a lot of interviews, but I really appreciate him being open, transparent, vulnerable for you, sharing some of his greatest moments, sharing some of his biggest learnings, because that's what helps the next generation grow. So please, like, share this on Facebook, linkedin, whatever platform you're on. Put it in an email, send it to your team, because these are life lessons that shouldn't be held by us. We're sharing them with you for you to share them with others, so, please.
Brandon Mulnix:I'd also like to take a moment and thank Stephen Herbruck for his dedication to the industry as well. Personally, I've been affected through prism controls and get to see how his passion for technology has shaped the tools that most farms use today in the US. He's had some contribution to the advancement in technology that's still used today. Some of his original inventions are still maintained by customers and maintained by us, and without leaders like Steven that were just innovative, saw the leading edge of technology and said hey, mom and dad, I want to use this to help our business, and not only help our business. He could have held all of that, but he shared it with the industry. He shared it through generations of a company that's now 45 years old. Prism Controls is, and if you aren't familiar with Prism Controls, please, prismcontrolscom, check out their website. They bring this to you because they believe in sharing this vision with you, the industry, because ultimately, together we're going to feed the world. So thank you, listeners, and have a great night. I'm out.
